The Blackberry Playbook, launched earlier this year, has so far failed to reach a big audience. Now the tablet's maker Research in Motion is trying a new tactic; selling the Playbook at fire sale prices. The company announced via its Twitter page today that a number of US and Canadian retailers will be selling the Playbook "for a limited time" for just $199. That's in comparison to its normal price of $499. This news follows an earlier report over the weekend that had the tablet on sale at Canadian Best Buy stories for the same price.

While RIM has continued to say that it will support the Playbook, the truth is that sales of the tablet have disappointing to say the least. The company admitted in September that it had only shipped 200,000 Playbook units in its last fiscal quarter. That's a shipment number, which means that the number of Playbooks that were actually bought by the public is likely much less.

The fact that RIM is now trying to sell the Playbook at such a low price could indicate two things; one is that it's trying to get rid of its current inventory. The other is that it is now trying to compete with these new and cheaper seven inch tablet on the market such as the Kindle Fire (also priced at $199) and the Nook Tablet (priced at $249).